River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-06-23
CALIFORNIA LETTER.
SAY JOSH. Cat. June z. 1857.

EDITOR JOURNAL: There were so many
Of our relatives and friends wantL2 j {
10 write them ON our arrival here, and
being unable to write every one an indi.
vidual letter, take this way of writing
all at the same time, through the
JOURNAL. of our trip. and safe arrival
here.
June AFTER a great deal of ''hand.
shaking" "good-byes" and write as soor
as you arrive there" we left our old home
for the Pacific slope. Met the balance Of
our party in Minneapolis, swelling oui
number 10 twenty-five. Taking the train
at that city We departed for Council Bluff:
at Z :35 P. NJ, arriving there at 6 in the
morning.
June AFTER partaking of a square
meal called breakfast lit being nearer
that hour than the dinner hour we
learned that our train did not leave for
the west until $50 P. NJ, leaving us until
thai time to inspect the cities of Council
Bluffs and Omaha.
Council Bluffs is a city of about 10000
inhabitants and is situated nearly two
miles from the Missouri river 1t is what
l call duh town; and the business men
told us the reason for it was that it is q
no-license town, while Omaha, only two
or three miles distant, in Nebraska, is a
license city and every thing is run wide
open style. " and if may be judge, Oma-
ma is very lively place of seventy to
eighty thousand people. After wander
ing around the two cities until very tired
we settled down to wait patiently (if that
is the right word until our train started
for the west. They commenced to make
up our train at 6 o'clock and we did not
get started until S:l5. The train consist
ed of 3 Pullman sleepers, excursion or
emigrant sleepers, day coaches, bag
gage, mail and express cars and we were
pulled by two engines. When ali was
ready we crossed the muddy Missouri TO
Omaha (the Missouri is rightly named)
where our train was divided in sections
one and two, our coach being in section
one, or the leading train.
We had emigrant tickets and conse-
quently rode in an emigrant sleeper, but
it is what l call riding first class and pay
ing third class fare. Our car started from
Council Bluffs with 80 passengers, chill
dren included. 1t was one of the new
cars, well ventilated, roomy and well ar
ranged for comfort, and in fact all any
one could ask for.
June 3.-On waking in the morning
we found that we had travelled about
$50 miles up the Platte River. The
valley of the Platte varies in width from
10 to 80 miles. as near as / could tell,
and it IS one vast prairie dotted here
and there with sod houses, and OCCASION
ally village along the railroad. I'm
mense herds of horses, cattle and sheep
roam over the valley. We crossed the
Platte at 9 in the morning, at place
called North Platte. The river is a very
wide, shallow and muddy stream, and
one would not know but it was the Mis-
souri, if he did not know to the con-
trary. The south fork of the Platte.
which we followed many miles, consists
Of sandy bed 40 rods wide, and there
is more water in the Kinnickinnic than
in this sandy channel. Prairie dogs are
showing their little bodies
above their mounds of sand, and the
boys on the train amuse themselves by
shooting at them and always missing the
mark; and | sometimes think they enjoy
being shot at, for as soon as shot at they
make somersault into their den, to re-
turn in an instant and sit as erect as
ever.
We gradually climbed the Rocky Noun
tains all day, reaching the highest point
at Sherman Station at $40 p NJ, 5000 feet
above the level of the sea, where the
Ames monument was built in memory of
Oliver and Cakes Ames, at cost of $780,
600.
Leaving Sherman we came to the Dale
Creek bridge, one of the most remarkable
sights on the trip, the structure being of
iron. $50 feet long, and as the train passes
over, it is just 126 feet to the bed Of the
stream, which looks like mere rivulet
below.
Pixies Peak in the distance to the
south, los miles, is visible for some dis
lance after leaving Sherman. Approach
ing Sherman from either direction af-
fords one an opportunity of using his
Overcoat even at this time of year, and
the tremendous altitude affords cons
tant breeze, which becomes almost a gale
in the face of the moving train.
June I've arose at the usual time
rather early so we could take it all in,
and all that greeted us on either side of
the rail road was an alkali bed covered par
TALLY with sage bush. Occasionally as
we crossed a gulch the antelope would
bound out, reach a place of safety and
stop to look at us pass by.
The Rockies are not just what / ex-
pected TO see. They look like vast plain
as we ascend and descend them so grad
ually. but frequently we could see high
peaks and deep gulches. We could
plainly see peaks 200 miles away, with
their snowy caps, while they looked not
over 20 miles off. Later on we arrived at
Rock Spring, where you will recollect the
Chinese riot occurred two years ago, in
the coal mines. Snow banks ornament
the mountains about Rocky Springs,
within mile of the city. We saw at a
distance genuine sand-storm, it having
tie appearance Of a cyclone.
Carcases of dead cattle are very fire.
quent along the road, evidently results
of hard winter. We are continually
passing through snow-sheds varying in
length from twenty rods 10 many miles.
Took dinner at Evanston. II is the best
located and looks the most thrifty of any
place l have seen in the Rockies.
After taking dinner and watering the
iron horse we once more started on ouI
downward journey toward Ogden, pass
ing through Echo Canon, part of the time
at the rapid pace of 90 miles an hour, ]
was not really AFRAID, cut will say that il
they had run a trifie slower 1 should
have felt easier in my mind. Steep preci
pics greeted US on every side as we de
scended the gulch. Occasionally squat
ter appeared 10 enjoy life in a little hut